West Valley City • The City Council here issued a proclamation Tuesday night that sets a goal of obtaining a "no-kill" designation for its animal shelter with the help of volunteers and animal advocacy groups.
The proclamation does not give a deadline but Mayor Mike Winder said, "We want to become a no-kill shelter as quickly as possible."
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He added: "That’s our valentine to the animals."
The proclamation asks groups and individuals to join the city in promoting responsible animal ownership, increasing adoptions and reducing euthanasia. Shelter officials already are working with a dozen organizations and will meet with representatives next week to discuss strategy, according to Layne Morris, director of the West Valley City Community Preservation Department, which operates the facility.
Representatives of two of the groups — Best Friends Animal Society and Community Animal Welfare Society (CAWS) — praised the decision to work toward no-kill status. CAWS volunteer Jamie Carter told the council that she’s excited that instead of arguing over how to kill animals, the groups and city are going to work together on how to save them.
Since a cat named Andrea survived two attempts shelter workers to gas her this past fall, animal advocates have been lobbying for a ban on the carbon monoxide chamber. They argue that an injection of sodium pentobarbital is the humane method for euthanasia. West Valley City officials have said they will continue to use both methods, and the proclamation does not address the issue.
No-kill actually means low-kill because just about all shelters put down animals that are dangerous, gravely injured or too sick to recover. Organizations and shelters have different definitions of the term: Some use a percentage or number, while others define no-kill as putting down only animals considered ineligible for adoption.
The West Valley City shelter, which also serves Taylorsville, took in approximately 5,000 animals last year and put down about 1,700 animals. Most of the euthanized animals were sick, injured or not adoptable because they were vicious or feral, officials said.
Becoming a no-kill shelter already has the support of Taylorsville Mayor Russ Wall. In his State of the City address on Feb. 1, Wall called for his city and West Valley City to work together to get that designation in three years.
Visit http://bit.ly/zRUz6w to read the proclamation
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